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Independence, MO —
He might be a small urban farmer to some, but James Boatman is still trying to run a business.
So, he went back to school, so to speak. Two weeks ago, Boatman, a western Independence resident, graduated from The Entrepreneurship Project, a new training program through the University of Missouri. Boatman was part of the project’s second graduating class, and now 40 program alumni across Missouri are developing a network to further their agricultural dreams.
“It’s about trying to make more successful farmers, not just as growers, but as viable businesses,” says Boatman, who also has a business degree in accounting from California State University at Fullerton. “They compacted what I learned in four years of business school in four months and focused on finance, marketing and business strategies for mostly small farmers.”
Boatman says he and other students studied farming business practices by visiting farms and observing how they worked. Tours of farms, creameries, wineries and restaurants also show participants the new trends in agriculture and food. Missouri residents who have less than 10 years of farming experience are eligible to participate.
“It’s a really great program because they don’t just pick the winners,” Boatman says. “They also pick those who are struggling, and you learn from those mistakes of growing and finances. They made a really good road map of anyone who wants to follow the agribusiness.”
Boatman owns several dozen chickens on a 11⁄2-acre property and practices the nationwide trend of urban farming, which is legal in Independence as defined by the City Code. This year, he is mostly selling salad mixes, kale and cool-weather crops at the Independence farmers markets on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, as well as at the Lee’s Summit farmers market. The fruits and vegetables are all grown on his property.
Perhaps the most important lesson learned through The Entrepreneurship Project, Boatman says, is the creation of a business plan, which was required before graduation.
“It really makes you concentrate and focus on what you need to do to reach your goals,” he says. “You have to plug in numbers to see if it’s financially viable or if you’re just dreaming.”
Boatman calls his farming “just a big experiment” toward self-sustainability, even though he lives in city limits. Though his farming has yet to “bring in loads of money,” he says, “it has brought me a lot of peace.”
“It puts the business reality to farming,” Boatman says of The Entrepreneurship Project, “because so many farmers are dreamers, I think. I know I’m doing the right thing. That’s what keeps me going.”
He might be a small urban farmer to some, but James Boatman is still trying to run a business.
So, he went back to school, so to speak. Two weeks ago, Boatman, a western Independence resident, graduated from The Entrepreneurship Project, a new training program through the University of Missouri. Boatman was part of the project’s second graduating class, and now 40 program alumni across Missouri are developing a network to further their agricultural dreams.
“It’s about trying to make more successful farmers, not just as growers, but as viable businesses,” says Boatman, who also has a business degree in accounting from California State University at Fullerton. “They compacted what I learned in four years of business school in four months and focused on finance, marketing and business strategies for mostly small farmers.”
Boatman says he and other students studied farming business practices by visiting farms and observing how they worked. Tours of farms, creameries, wineries and restaurants also show participants the new trends in agriculture and food. Missouri residents who have less than 10 years of farming experience are eligible to participate.
“It’s a really great program because they don’t just pick the winners,” Boatman says. “They also pick those who are struggling, and you learn from those mistakes of growing and finances. They made a really good road map of anyone who wants to follow the agribusiness.”
Boatman owns several dozen chickens on a 11⁄2-acre property and practices the nationwide trend of urban farming, which is legal in Independence as defined by the City Code. This year, he is mostly selling salad mixes, kale and cool-weather crops at the Independence farmers markets on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, as well as at the Lee’s Summit farmers market. The fruits and vegetables are all grown on his property.
Perhaps the most important lesson learned through The Entrepreneurship Project, Boatman says, is the creation of a business plan, which was required before graduation.
“It really makes you concentrate and focus on what you need to do to reach your goals,” he says. “You have to plug in numbers to see if it’s financially viable or if you’re just dreaming.”
Boatman calls his farming “just a big experiment” toward self-sustainability, even though he lives in city limits. Though his farming has yet to “bring in loads of money,” he says, “it has brought me a lot of peace.”
“It puts the business reality to farming,” Boatman says of The Entrepreneurship Project, “because so many farmers are dreamers, I think. I know I’m doing the right thing. That’s what keeps me going.”
